Call for proposals : ACCESS ERC STARTING GRANTS 2025

The purpose of the ACCESS ERC call is to support young talents in the preparation of an application to the ERC Starting Grants call, by enabling them to strengthen their CVs, so that they could be competitive in this specific call. The Access ERC programme consists in financing two-year (24 months) post-doctoral contracts for young PhDs hosted in French research labs.

The Access ERC 2025 call is only open to Social Sciences and Humanities.

The ANR funding consists of a two-year (24 months) post-doctoral contract, between 1st  July 2025 and 31st  August 2027, with the objective of applying to the ERC Starting Grants call. In order to allow future applicants to apply to the ERC Starting Grants with the best chances of success, the ANR has taken measures to speed-up the selection of proposals, the implementation of funding and to provide support. to sum-up :

• A single beneficiary (the French research organisation that will host and support the young researcher during these two years, and will be Host Institution for the ERC submission);
• Selection performed by a multidisciplinary scientific evaluation committee;
• A swift return to the applicants (results notified approximately 4 months after the closing date of the call);
• A kick-off meeting to provide successful applicants with information on the ERC Starting Grants, in particular from the national contact points
• To apply to this call: Hold a PhD in the Social Sciences and Humanities (or any degree or qualification corresponding to the international standard of an ERC-eligible PhD).
• Be eligible for the ERC Starting Grants call for the duration of the Access ERC post-doctoral contract (2 years), i.e. have 2 to 7 years of experience after the thesis on the 1st of January of the year of the targeted ERC Starting Grants call. 
• To apply to this call: Hold a PhD in Social Sciences and Humanities (or any degree or qualification corresponding to the international standard of an ERC-eligible PhD).
• Be eligible for the ERC Starting Grants call for the duration of the Access ERC post-doctoral contract (2 years), i.e. have 2 to 7 years of experience after the thesis on the 1st of January of the year of the targeted ERC Starting Grants call. 
• To have obtained the guarantee of being hosted in a French research lab (EA, UMS, UMIFRE...), where he or she will benefit from suitable working conditions and the supervision of a mentor. The choice of the host lab is important since the project submitted to the ANR must demonstrate its inclusion in the scientific axes of this unit and its impact beyond the 2-year post-doctoral contract. The unit director and the mentor (who will jointly write a letter of commitment) can be the same person or two different persons, but neither of them can be the thesis director.
• Have demonstrated mobility abroad or in France, for at least one year, during the thesis or after the thesis. 

Demonstrate a strong command of English, oral and written.

The maximum support allocated by the ANR to this Access ERC 2025 call is 185 k€ (excluding environmental costs) for a period of two years, between July 1st 2025 and August 31st 2027. This financial support will cover the salary of the researcher as well as the costs related to his/her environment.

The young researcher will have to commit himself/herself in the framework of this Access ERC 2025 call to submit at least one application to the ERC Starting Grants call in one of the 8 SHS panels, in October 2026 (ERC 2027), and even as early as October 2025 (ERC 2026), if his/her situation allows it.